Our values

We believe that it is crucial to have a set of core values to inform our work. They ensure that we have a clear and open relationship with partners and other organizations and help us evaluate our work.

Accessibility

IAPO is committed to ensuring that the work it does is accessible to its members and partners. We recognise the challenges that accessibility brings and the resources required to ensure accessibility and strive to ensure that our events, publications and website are accessible.

Accountability

IAPO is accountable to its membership through our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and our Governing Board, elected by the members. The Board is the accountable body for IAPO and staff report directly to them. We are committed to having clear decision-making processes. We believe strongly in the importance of being a patient-led organization. All IAPO full members are patient-led organizations and are committed to ensuring that the patient’s voice is at the centre of their decision-making processes.

Commitment to Diversity

We recognise and celebrate the diversity within IAPO’s membership. We realise the challenges that this commitment brings given language barriers, cultural difference, the differing resource levels of organizations and the global disparity in access to healthcare. Yet, we are committed to working in a way in which all patient-led organizations can be actively involved with IAPO, contributing their own unique perspectives.

Inclusiveness

IAPO strives to be inclusive in all its work. We work with our members and our Board to ensure that IAPO’s services, events and membership structure are as inclusive as possible. While ensuring that we are a patient-led organization, we work with other stakeholders through partnerships and collaborations in order to forward discussions in the area of patient centred healthcare.

Independence

IAPO is a patient-led organization independent of government, industry and other professional organizations. IAPO’s strategic direction is set by our members through our Governing Board. We are committed to ensuring that IAPO and our members remain independent, believing that this is the most effective way to represent the needs and views of patients.

Representation

IAPO strives to be fully representative of patients’ needs and views. Given the diversity of IAPO’s membership, we recognise the challenges this entails. We ensure that consultation with members is an integral part of our work including undertaking an annual survey of members’ needs and using all this information to guide future projects and accurately represent our members at an international level.

Transparency

IAPO strives to have clear processes for its work including its decision-making processes, utilising its website and other appropriate communication tools. IAPO has an open, transparent framework to guide its funding agreements. IAPO works in partnership with a number of organizations; all formal partnerships are governed by clear and transparent guidelines.